Dispensers that utilize educators are well known in the dispensing art. An eductor utilizes a venturi to draw a concentrated liquid from a reservoir into a flowing carrier input fluid to form the product that is to be dispensed. Venturi's have been used for many purposes, including in the carburetors of various vehicles for many years. However, the usual eductor has a venturi arrangement that is set at a given aperture size for a given concentration of the liquid product. This decreases the utility of the dispenser and the eductor. It is preferred that the dispenser, and consequently the eductor be adjustable to provide for products of differing concentrations of a concentrate liquid for a given carrier input fluid flow rate. Such eductor systems have a wide area of utilization. One area is in products for the cleaning of surfaces, such as in buildings. These can include the cleaning of restaurant kitchens and dining rooms, hospital facilities, hotel rooms, offices, restrooms and various other areas. The dispenser can be a part of a continuous spray system for the direct cleaning of large spaces or it can be used in combination with individual containers to fill the containers which then are to be used in various other locations. In the former use the dispensers can be used to clean the floors and other surfaces of large food preparation areas. In the latter use the dispenser can be used to provide the diluted composition to refillable containers. The containers then are used to clean various surfaces in restaurants, hospitals, office buildings, schools and similar buildings. In this use the refillable containers can increase the efficiency of the operations by reducing the number of containers that are needed and which would have to be transported and stored until use.
The prior art dispensers include U.S. Pat. No. 7,341,206; U.S. Pat. No. 7,370,813; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,901. These patents are directed to eductor dispensers that can vary the concentration of a concentrated chemical in a product stream. The concentrated chemical is a surface cleaning chemical and the product stream is this concentrated chemical in a diluted condition. The diluting substance is water. The eductor dispensers are comprised of a body member having an elongated channel. Within the elongated channel is an eductor that is moveable along the elongated channel. Associated with the eductor in the elongated channel is a valve that is moveable in the elongated channel along with the eductor. This structure provides for a different concentration of the concentrated chemical in the product stream. Located below the body member is a container that contains the concentrated chemical. The eductor functions as a venturi with the flow of the diluent water stream through the elongated channel drawing up the concentrated chemical into the diluent water stream. The now diluted concentrated chemical product exits the eductor dispenser through a nozzle and can be used directly or can be used to fill a plurality of containers. These eductor dispensers require several internal moving parts and exterior members to control these internal moving parts. Each of these exterior control members require seals and the maintenance of these seals.
The present invention is directed to simplifying eductor dispensers. An objective is to decrease the number of moving parts. Another is to decrease the need to control moving parts from the exterior of the eductor dispenser. This decreases the number of seals that are needed and lowers the cost of the eductor dispenser. In the eductor dispenser of the present invention the concentrated chemical can flow through two or more different sized venturi channels into the input fluid stream to give two or more different concentrations of the chemical concentrate in the input fluid and thus in the now diluted chemical product. Then by varying the flow rate of the diluent input fluid, usually water, the concentration of the concentrated chemical in the diluent input fluid can be further adjusted. A higher flow rate of the diluent input fluid through the venturi of the eductor will increase the amount of concentrated chemical drawn up into the diluent input fluid. The diluent input fluid flow rate, and the size of the venturi channel, will determine the concentration of concentrated chemical in the product stream emanating from a nozzle.